The Breathing Book: Vitality & Good Health Through Essential Breath Work (Paperback)

by Donna Farhi (Author) "Every day young children come to play in the sand at the beach where I live..." (more)
Key Phrases: breathing bolster, breath holding patterns, vocal diaphragm, The Breathing Book, Breathing Easy, Effortless Rest (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
A groundbreaking approach to improving the quality of your life through the most readily accessible resource: your breath. These safe and easy-to-learn techniques can also be used to treat asthma and ease stress, depression, eating disorders, insomnia, arthritis, chronic pain, and other debilitating conditions.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Holt Paperbacks; 1 edition (November 15, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805042970
• ISBN-13: 978-0805042979
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #8,013 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

95 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breath Practice Demystified, August 23, 1998

By A Customer

Clearly written and very readable, the focus of this book is not on esoteric breathing excercises but on remembering and relearning the deep, smooth, easy breath we had as children. With lots of explication and diagrams for the analytical among us, and many postures, excercises and meditations to try, this book offers good advice on how to identify and remove habitual stress patterns that encourage shallow or restricted breathing. The last two chapters- "The shared breath - Inquiries for couples" and "Minding the Breath - Cultivating Mindfulness" were definitely my favorites.

61 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected, September 5, 2004

By	R. Rhett "rlrhett" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I almost wonder if I have the same book as the other reviewers. I found this book very difficult to use. The chapters go on and on with theory and philosophy, but very little in the way of simple to follow exercises. Also, the book assumes you are already familiar with Yoga and are comfortable doing long stretching exercises before you begin.

I became interested in breathing excercises from Andrew Weil's tapes that accompany the "8 weeks" book. I was hoping for more exercises and perhaps even a couple of complete sets of exercises to go with what I had heard on the tapes. I envisioned doing excercises at the office in the morning or at home before bed to improve health and reduce stress. I did not need or want (yet) an exegesis of the theory of breath and health; nor was I looking for techniques that require special clothing, mats and pillows, and 10 minutes of set up.

If you want the full dose of theory, spirituality, new age physiology, etc., this is the book for you (and probably a very good one at that). But if you are looking for a simple breathing book to introduce you to breath work, this is probably not the book for you.

37 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy to understand, read and implement step-by-step guide., July 6, 1999

By A Customer

I really liked this book! It is thorough, easy to read and understand. This is the first time someone has explained it to me in a way I can understand it! Excellent diagrams, exercises, etc. Not only an outstanding yoga teacher but also a good book writer!